Warriors Re-Sign Andre Iguodala
July 12, 4:07pm: The signing is official, according to NBA.com.
July 1, 10:56pm: Andre Iguodala has decided to return to the Warriors on a three-year, $48MM deal, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical. Iguodala himself confirmed the agreement (on Twitter) around the same time Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN first reported that a deal was in place (Twitter link). The contract is fully guaranteed with no options on either side, per Charania (Twitter link).
Iguodala committed to Golden State after meeting with GM Bob Myers and coach Steve Kerr tonight in Los Angeles, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Iguodala also received multi-year offers from the Rockets, Spurs and Kings, putting pressure on the Warriors to increase their own offer, which was believed to originally be in the range of $12-14MM per year, with a partial guarantee in year three (Twitter link via Sam Amick of USA Today).
[RELATED: 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker]
With new deals in place for Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, along with a super-max extension for Stephen Curry and a huge contract coming for Kevin Durant, Myers has ensured that the core of the Warriors’ championship team will remain together. However, it certainly won’t be cheap.
Once the Warriors come to terms with Durant on a new deal that will give him a 20% raise using his Non-Bird rights, they will have an estimated $130MM in guaranteed money on their books, as Bobby Marks of ESPN details. Even if Golden State fills out the rest of its roster with minimum salary players, team salary would exceed $137MM, putting the club way over the $119MM luxury tax line and creating a tax bill in the neighborhood of $40MM.
By exceeding the tax apron, the Warriors will lose their full mid-level exception and the bi-annual exception, but will have access to the taxpayer MLE worth $5.192MM. Of course, given how many commitments the Dubs already have on their books, any player(s) signed using that exception would be exponentially more expensive due to tax penalties.
The Warriors’ future cap situation will also get a lot more interesting due to Iguodala’s new deal, which includes a guaranteed third year. That means Iggy’s contract will run through the 2019/20 season, which is the same year Klay Thompson‘s new deal will begin. If Golden State intends to retain Thompson, the team’s bill on salaries and taxes that year will be massive.
While Warriors ownership will have to worry about those future tax penalties, fans in the Bay Area can rest assured that all the key pieces of last year’s championship team, including veteran big man David West, will be back.
Outside of former MVPs Curry and Durant, Iguodala was viewed as the Warriors’ most crucial free agent. The 33-year-old finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting this year, and while his scoring numbers were very modest, he played a huge role for Golden State as a three-and-D wing. Iguodala ranked 11th on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents.
With Iguodala off the board, it will be interesting to see where teams like the Rockets turn. Houston was reportedly having serious talks with the Cavs about Iman Shumpert, so he may be the Rockets’ Plan B.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Pacers Sign Second-Rounder Ike Anigbogu
The Pacers have signed rookie big man Ike Anigbogu to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release. Anigbogu first broke the news himself, posting a photo on Instagram that showed him putting pen to paper and confirming that he had “made it official.”
[RELATED: 2017 NBA Draft Pick Signings]
Anigbogu, 18, entered the draft this spring after just one season at UCLA. Many draft experts are high on the young center’s potential, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him 15th on his big board.
However, Anigbogu didn’t play much during his lone season with the Bruins (4.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 13.0 MPG) and is viewed as a very raw prospect. Health concerns also surround Anigbogu, with questions about his knee likely contributing to his fall on draft night. The Pacers ultimately selected the rookie with the 47th overall pick in the draft.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Indiana has the cap room necessary to sign Anigbogu to a deal longer than two years and worth more than the minimum, if the team so chooses. For comparison’s sake, the Pacers’ second-round pick in 2016 – Georges Niang – received a three-year contract worth slightly more than the minimum — it was fully guaranteed for one year with a small partial guarantee in year two. Niang was the 50th overall pick.
Lakers Waive David Nwaba
The Lakers have waived shooting guard David Nwaba, the team announced today in a press release. The move appears to be a precursor to L.A. finalizing its contract agreement with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
[RELATED: Lakers to sign Kentavious Caldwell-Pope]
Nwaba, 24, made his NBA debut with the Lakers earlier this year after signing a 10-day contract with the team. The 6’4″ shooting guard eventually earned a second 10-day deal and then a rest-of-season contract with an option for ’17/18.
In 20 regular season contests (19.8 MPG), Nwaba averaged 6.0 PPG and 3.2 RPG for the Lakers. The team was also said to be impressed with his play on defense. Nwaba did enough to get the club to pick up his team option last month, but his salary for 2017/18 remained non-guaranteed, making him a candidate to be waived when the Lakers needed to clear a little extra cap flexibility.
With Nwaba’s minimum salary contract off the books, the Lakers have about $17.7MM in cap room. There’s a good chance the team will sign second-round pick Thomas Bryant to a contract using cap space before finalizing its deal with Caldwell-Pope, since that would allow for a longer-term contract for the rookie without reducing the team’s cap room — Bryant’s $816K minimum salary would replace an $816K charge for an empty roster spot.
After that, the Lakers could make Caldwell-Pope’s deal official and would still have the $4.3MM room exception to add another player. The club could also re-sign Nwaba to a new minimum salary deal at some point. However, he’d have to clear waivers first, and there’s no guarantee another team won’t claim him later this week.
Cavs Sign Jeff Green
JULY 11: Jeff Green has officially signed with the Cavaliers, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The team announced the signing in a Tuesday evening press release.
JULY 7: The Cavaliers have reached a deal with forward Jeff Green, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. Brian Windhorst of ESPN adds that the deal in place is a one-year pact worth $2.3MM.
After signing a previous one-year, $15MM deal with the Magic last offseason, Green averaged 9.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. The considerable pay decrease on the heels of a career worst season comes with a drastically improved chance of playing for a winner and is a low-risk, high-reward move for the reigning Eastern Conference champions.
The 30-year-old has bounced around since coming into the league in 2007/08, some of his best years coming early in his career with the Thunder, and as a result it’s been difficult to truly assess what he’s worth. That, perhaps, has never been more evident than when one compares the contrasting deals the forward signed this summer versus last.
Clippers Sign Jawun Evans
The Clippers have signed rookie guard Jawun Evans, reports Marc J. Spears of ESPN (link via Twitter). Although the team hasn’t yet made a formal announcement, the NBA’s transactions log suggests the move is official.
Evans was drafted by the 76ers with the 39th overall pick in the second round and then traded to the Clippers for cash considerations. In his first three games of the Las Vegas Summer League, the Oklahoma State product has averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.0 APG, and 3.0 RPG on 50% shooting.
Terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but with no cap room available, the Clippers will have to either offer a minimum salary or use part of their mid-level exception to lock up Evans. A minimum salary deal would be limited to two years, while the mid-level could be used to offer more years and a little more money. The club used $6MM of its $8.4MM MLE to sign Milos Teodosic.
For comparison’s sake, Diamond Stone – 2016’s 40th overall pick – received a fully guaranteed, two-year minimum salary contract when he signed with the Clippers last year.
Nuggets Waive Mike Miller
The Nuggets have parted ways with Mike Miller, announcing today that the veteran guard has been waived from the roster (Twitter link). Miller’s salary for 2017/18 would reportedly have become fully guaranteed if he remained under contract beyond Wednesday.
Miller, 37, appeared in just 20 games for the Nuggets last year in his second season with the club. The veteran sharpshooter played a career-low 7.6 minutes per game, averaging just 1.4 PPG and 1.9 RPG. During his very limited playing time, Miller still exhibited an ability to shoot from outside, making 40% of his three-pointers (albeit on just 20 attempts).
Miller’s contract with the Nuggets called for him to earn a $3.5MM salary in 2017/18, but that entire figure was non-guaranteed, according to Basketball Insiders. As such, cutting Miller allows Denver to clear that amount from its cap, opening up a little more room.
Assuming Mason Plumlee‘s cap hold stays on the Nuggets’ books and Paul Millsap‘s deal is finalized soon, the team should have about $5.5MM in cap space, plus its $4.3MM room exception. Those figures can’t be combined to use on a single player.
Grizzlies Sign Rade Zagorac
1:31pm: Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders clarifies the details on Zagorac’s contract, tweeting that it’s actually a three-year deal, with a third-year team option. The Grizzlies used part of their mid-level exception to give the Serbian swingman a $950K first-year salary.
12:25pm: Zagorac’s deal is a two-year contract with a team option on the second year, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM.
12:23pm: Draft-and-stash prospect Rade Zagorac has signed an NBA contract with the Grizzlies, according to the league’s official transactions page. While exact terms of the agreement aren’t known, RealGM’s transactions log lists Zagorac’s new deal as a multiyear pact.
Zagorac, whose rights were acquired by the Grizzlies in a 2016 draft-night trade that also sent No. 31 pick Deyonta Davis to Memphis, was the 35th overall selection in last year’s draft. He remained overseas for one more year and was the leading scorer for KK Mega Leks in Serbia in 2016/17. In 26 ABA League games, Zagorac has averaged 15.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 2.5 APG.
The 21-year-old swingman, who has been playing for the Grizzlies’ Summer League team this month, isn’t subject to the NBA’s rookie scale, as a former second-round pick. As such, Memphis would have had to use an exception to sign him — the team still has a portion of its mid-level available after inking Ben McLemore to a deal worth $5.2MM in 2017/18, so it’s possible Zagorac received a chunk of that MLE.
Meanwhile, RealGM’s transactions log notes that the Grizzlies have also signed Jeremy Morgan, another member of the club’s Summer League squad, to an NBA contract.
A 6’5″ guard out of Northern Iowa, Morgan appears to have received just a one-year contract, though we’ll have to wait on the exact terms of his deal. He’s probably more likely to end up on the roster for the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, than on the NBA team.
Frank Jackson Signs With Pelicans
JULY 11: The Pelicans have officially signed Jackson, the team announced today in a press release. While terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed by the club, a three-year contract for Jackson – as reported below – would mean dipping into New Orleans’ mid-level exception.
JULY 8: The Pelicans have worked out a three-year deal with second-round pick Frank Jackson, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The 31st overall selection out of Duke will get two guaranteed seasons, along with a partial guarantee for the third year.
New Orleans traded the 40th pick and $1.8MM to Charlotte on draft night for the right to move up and take Jackson. He figures to compete for playing time right away in a Pelicans backcourt that is still being rebuilt after it was depleted in the February trade for DeMarcus Cousins.
Jackson, a 6’4″ combo guard, averaged 10.9 points per game during his lone season with the Blue Devils.
Patrick Patterson Signs With Thunder
JULY 10th, 10:52pm: Patterson has officially signed with the team, according to a Thunder press release.
JULY 4th, 9:07pm: The Thunder have reached an agreement with free agent big man Patrick Patterson, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides will do a three-year, $16.4MM deal. The third year on the contract will be a player option, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).
[RELATED: 2017 NBA Free Agent Tracker]
Patterson, 28, had been with the Raptors since arriving in Toronto during the 2013/14 season as part of the team’s Rudy Gay trade with Sacramento. He was a reliable part of the Raptors’ rotation over the last three and a half years, providing rebounding, guarding opposing bigs, and making shots from outside (.372 3PT% in 2016/17).
Based on the reported terms of Patterson’s new deal with the Thunder, he’ll be receiving the club’s full taxpayer mid-level exception, which is worth $16,354,800 over three years. Oklahoma City technically isn’t into tax territory yet, but the club is getting close to that threshold, and hasn’t yet re-signed restricted free agent Andre Roberson. Using the taxpayer MLE allows the Thunder to avoid being hard-capped for 2017/18, giving the club the flexibility to retain Roberson.
Oklahoma City is parting with Domantas Sabonis in its deal for Paul George, and lost Taj Gibson to the Timberwolves this week, so Patterson will help replenish the depth in the club’s frontcourt. Within his report on the agreement, Wojnarowski suggests that the Thunder envision Patterson as a starter, meaning the veteran figures to play alongside center Steven Adams, with Enes Kanter continuing to come off the bench.
Prior to their agreement with Patterson, the Thunder had been exploring a deal with Rudy Gay. ESPN’s Royce Young tweeted today that OKC appeared to be Gay’s preferred landing spot, but there was a “sizable gap” between his asking price and what the Thunder could offer. With Patterson now in the mix using the MLE, the Thunder may be out of the running on Gay, since acquiring anyone via a sign-and-trade would create a hard cap.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pacers Sign Bojan Bogdanovic
JULY 10th, 10:48pm: Bogdanovic has officially signed with the team, according to a Pacers press release.
JULY 7th, 1:48pm: The Pacers have agreed to sign Bojan Bogdanovic to a two-year, $21MM contract with a partial guarantee in year two, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The news comes right on the heels of a report that the Wizards pulled Bogdanovic’s qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Bogdanovic, 28, enjoyed the best season of his NBA career in 2016/17, starting 54 games for the Nets before being sent to the Wizards at the trade deadline. For the season, the 6’8″ swingman averaged 13.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG, with a .445/.367/.893 shooting line. He also chipped in 8.8 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 13 playoff games for Washington.
After receiving a qualifying offer from the Wizards, Bogdanovic entered July as a restricted free agent. However, Washington’s priority was to retain Otto Porter, and the team is now poised to match an offer sheet for Porter from the Nets. That put Bogdanovic out of the Wizards’ price range, particularly after the club agreed to sign a lower-cost replacement in Jodie Meeks.
Reports earlier in free agency pegged Bogdanovic’s asking price at $16MM per year over three or four seasons, which might have been attainable last summer, but was never realistic in this year’s market. The Pacers will get him at a $10.5MM annual salary, and will have an out for the second year if things don’t work out in Indiana in 2017/18. The new-look Pacers likely envision Bogdanovic as a replacement for C.J. Miles, who remains on the free agent market.
The Pacers will use cap room to sign Bogdanovic, and won’t have a whole lot of space left after also having signed Darren Collison to a deal that looks similar to Bogdanovic’s. Based on my rough calculations, Indiana’s team salary will be at around $94MM after officially adding Bogdanovic.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Bojan Bogdanovic is not the same player as Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has agreed to a three-year deal with the Kings.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.